Although Congress is unlikely to follow calls from a top Democrat
to bring back the military draft, the United States does have a plan,
if necessary, aimed at inducting millions of young men for service.

The Selective Service System, an agency independent of the Defense
Department, says it's ready to respond quickly to any crisis that would
threaten to overwhelm the current all-volunteer military.

"We're the fire department," said spokesman Pat Schuback
at the service headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

"We're prepared to do the mission with whatever time period we're
asked to do it in. Our current plan is 193 days and that was based on
manpower analysis."

With an active list of more than 15 million names, Schuback said an
estimated 93 percent of all men in the United States between 18 and
26 have registered for the Selective Service, as required by law.

Chris Baker, 20, of Decatur, Georgia, said he wouldn't support a draft
under any circumstances.

"I don't believe it's right to send people who don't really want
to go fight for the country," Baker said. "I probably wouldn't
go, but I know that'd I have to go to jail for that. That's probably
what I would do -- sit in jail."

But 25-year-old Donnie Deerman of West Blocton, Alabama, said he would
feel obligated to participate in a military draft.

"I'd have to do it. My dad did two tours of duty for Vietnam and
for this country," Deerman said. "I wouldn't want to leave
my kids behind, but I wouldn't argue about it."

While U.S. commanders insist sending more U.S. troops is not the answer
in Iraq, they concede they really couldn't maintain a much bigger force
than the 150,000 deployed there now because the U.S. military is just
too small.

Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the Democrat who likely will head
the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in the next congressional
session, said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" he plans to
propose a new military draft next year.

But virtually no one expects the bill to have any chance of passage,
and incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday the Democratic Party's
House leadership would not support Rangel's proposal. (Full story)

CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said every poll he's seen
in the past year or two indicates Americans young and old don't want
to return to the draft.

"And those who are calling for a draft, of course, know that it's
unpopular," Schneider said. "They believe it may be the fastest
way to end the war, and to keep the United States out of future wars."

Military experts say it's highly doubtful a military draft would ever
again be green-lighted because the volunteer system works.

They also say any major attack against the United States would certainly
result in a surge of additional volunteers that would make a draft unnecessary.

They point to the volunteer response following the December 7, 1941,
Japanese attack on the military complex at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as
an example, along with the surge in volunteers after the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001.

Retired Gen. James "Spider" Marks, a decorated 33-year veteran
and CNN military analyst, doesn't see any likely scenario that would
require the Pentagon to ask for a draft.

But, he said, "it's never a discussion topic that's off the table
for long-term planning."

Instead of a draft, Marks said, the armed forces should be more aggressive
about recruiting volunteers, "to increase the top line of the military."

If needed, the U.S. Selective Service System says it's ready to pull
the trigger on a new draft. According to the Selective Service, here's
how a draft would happen:

A crisis occurs that overwhelms the current all-volunteer military,
forcing Congress and the president to authorize a draft system.

Selective Service starts a lottery, based on birth dates, beginning
with men age 20.

Those who are assigned low lottery numbers are "ordered to report
for a physical, mental, and moral evaluation at a Military Entrance
Processing Station to determine whether they are fit for military service,"
according to the Selective Service's Web site.

They have 10 days to claim "exemption, postponement, or deferment,"
that would excuse them from service.

Compared to the Vietnam War era, any future draft would allow "fewer
reasons to excuse a man from service," according to the Selective
Service.

Some of the rule changes include shorter postponements due to student
deferments. Many draft eligible men during the Vietnam era avoided military
service by attending college.

The previous active draft was established in 1940 before World War
II and suspended after it ended. The draft was resumed in 1948 and continued
until 1973, when the military converted to an all-volunteer force.

The requirement that all men between 18 and 26 register with the draft
was suspended in 1975 and reinstated five years later in response to
the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.